Knights lose final two, but still have spot in CIF

Puddles pooled in the corners of the field and the players began to take advantage, sometimes kicking the ball hard into the area, letting the water catch the ball and getting a teammate to fish it out. While it was creative, it wasn’t helping all that much.

St. Francis fell to Loyola last Friday evening, 4-1, as Loyola found holes deep in St. Francis territory and took advantage twice in the first 20 minutes.

“We knew we had to be good about clearing because it was slick,” said Knights Head Coach Glen Appels. “They scored two goals on bounce-arounds and they could have had two other ones. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get those balls cleared.”

Loyola’s Nick Daegele also scored a 45-yard wondershot on a free kick that sailed high into the air before hitting the corner of the goal post, just out of reach of Knights goalkeeper Jordan Bell.

The loss dropped St. Francis to second in Mission league, which was only made worse when the Knights lost to Crespi, 1-0.

St. Francis (12-5-4, 7-3-2 in league) is now third in Mission league, behind Loyola (14-4-6, 6-1-3)and Crespi (18-3-4, 6-1-4).